History

Founded in 1915 under the direction of Freddy Wood, the namesake for UBC’s Freddy Wood Theatre, the UBC Players Club is the oldest student club on campus, and the oldest touring theatre production company in British Columbia. The club even predates UBC’s Theatre Department, which was formed in 1958. After the formation of the Department, the club’s prominence and function seemed to be replaced and it eventually disbanded sometime between 1970-75, before being revived again in 2000.

The Players Club’s cast of The Romantic Young Lady on their 12th annual tour of British Columbia.

In the early years of the club, it was so popular that the executive had to limit membership to 50, by audition only. Enrolment at UBC was only 379 at the time. More recently the club has revived their constitution and anybody is allowed to audition for acting parts in our productions – but with the intense competition at the time, it was a little more exclusive.

The first production by the UBC Players Club was Jerome K. Jerome’s Fanny and the Servant Problem in 1916.

Special thanks to Matthew Willis for this page’s research. | UBC Archives